The dream that took flight: Our founders inspire our future

An airfield. A desert. A dollar. A dream.

In 1946, just months after World War II ended, a legacy began. Lt. General Barton Kyle Yount paid $1 to purchase a decommissioned Army Air Force base known as Thunderbird Field No. 1. He transformed the base into a place of hope and innovation: an international school that would prepare Americans to lead not with weapons, but with something far more powerful: understanding, trade, diplomacy, language, and cultural fluency.

That school, now known as Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University and known at the time as the American Institute for Foreign Trade, was for many years the first and only education institution in the United States focused on global business and diplomacy. Its mission was vital: safeguard our world’s hardwon peace and ensure it would endure. This mission would be achieved through American leadership helping to steer the world toward cooperation, not conflict. Yount believed young Americans, equipped with business acumen, cultural fluency and purpose could change the country - and the world - for the better.

Now, Thunderbird’s 80-year legacy has seen Yount’s mission - and dream - continue to flourish and grow. Nowhere is that growth more apparent than with the creation of the Founders’ Vision Award, which embodies the mission of Thunderbird’s past and the promise of its future.

The Founders’ Vision Award is a full-tuition scholarship pioneered and seeded by alumna Karen J. Simon ’83 to advance Yount’s founding purpose by bringing the best and brightest American students to Thunderbird’s Master of Global Management program. The award also creates a compelling financial incentive for accomplished Americans to enroll at Thunderbird while engaging alumni and donors’ support in shaping the future of Thunderbird for the next generation of global leaders.

“The inspiration behind this award is my conviction that American students have the power to be transformative leaders on the global stage,” said Simon, a trailblazing alumna whose vision, lead gift, and matching challenge are bringing the Founders’ Vision Award to life. “As T-birds, we need to ensure that Thunderbird remains competitive. This scholarship is intended to provide financial relief, but more importantly, to drive the most talented and brightest students to choose Thunderbird as the best path forward. Through targeted outreach, recruitment, and scholarships like this one, we can make Thunderbird a top choice for American students once again.”

Today, the mission of this award is more vital than ever, as full-time residential graduate programs face growing competition from online and executive formats, as well as the financial pull of immediate post-undergraduate careers. However, as many T-birds can attest, there is a certain magic to the in-person, on-campus experience at a global school that enchants not only the in-class learning experience, but also the out-of-classroom experience, like vibrant regional nights, boisterous cultural dinners, and, of course, legendary Pub nights!

Joining the newest student cohort for the indelible in-person T-bird experience during the 2025/26 school year are the inaugural Founders’ Vision scholars Jennifer Trohan and Parker Huff. Both Jennifer and Parker embody the spirit of this award, demonstrating academic excellence (minimum 3.5 GPA), leadership experience, and a passion for contributing to Thunderbird’s community and global mission. They have each brought a unique background, second language proficiency, and business acumen to the classroom since joining this Fall. They have also brought the spirit of the original Founders into our newest cohort.

The dream of Yount and the original Thunderbird Founders is a dream many alumni still share. In addition to Karen Simon’s generous foundational gift, fellow T-birds Steve Liston ’78 and Dheeraj Verma ’01 have joined in to support the Founders’ Vision Award with philanthropic contributions of their own - an exciting start, but still only a start.

With a goal of raising $3.5 million to support 50 American students over the next five years, alumni support will be the lifeblood of the award. Karen Simon is offering a matching challenge (and T-birds always rise to a challenge!): She will contribute $1 for every $3, up to a total of $1 million, for any gift over $100,000. This match ensures major gifts have exponential impact, and the spirit of Thunderbird’s founders lives on in new generations.

“Borders frequented by trade seldom need soldiers” is the maxim all T-birds know that the School still follows today. These words remind us of the vision Yount had for the seeds of peace and prosperity to grow from the rubble of WWII, for the power of an education to shape a better future, for Americans to be ambassadors not just for their country, but for the world.

The world needs T-birds now more than ever, and the Founders’ Vision Award is T-birds rising to meet that need.

Visit to learn more: https://thunderbird.asu.edu/foundersvisio